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After a hot start in the fall thanks to "The Voice," "Sunday Night Football" and the new drama "Revolution," NBC has gone into a deep hibernation for the winter. Ratings at the network have fallen dramatically as several freshman shows have tanked, and a few sophomores are on life support. This week was particularly bad for the peacock network. On Tuesday, the musical "Smash" drew less than 5 million viewers in its season premiere. Although "Smash," about the behind-the-scenes drama of Broadway, was hardly a hit last season, NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt is a big backer of the program.

The NBC broadcast network, after trailing in the ratings for nearly a decade, could finish the TV season in first place among viewers prized by advertisers. Comcast Corp. executives Tuesday lauded the peacock network's performance, which helped power the Philadelphia cable giant's earnings for the quarter ended March 31. This season, NBC has increased its prime-time audience among viewers ages 18 to 49 - the audience that advertisers pay a premium to reach. "The Blacklist" with James Spader and the singing competition show "The Voice" have been reliable performers.

BEIJING -- The latest installment of NBC's hit drama “The Blacklist” was deleted Wednesday from all major Chinese video-streaming websites that carry the popular TV show, marking the second time an episode of the program has been pulled from mainland portals after featuring Chinese plot elements. Chinese video websites such as Youku, Tencent and Sohu all carry American TV shows as part of their regular licensed streaming offerings. “The Blacklist” has been among the most-watched shows on such websites recently, attracting millions of views.

Tina Fey is about to go into bossy-pants mode (again) for NBC. The peacock network has ordered straight-to-series 13 episodes of a new untitled comedy from Fey and her producing partner Robert Carlock that will star "The Office" alum Ellie Kemper. (Yep, you're reading correctly: Fey will be behind the camera on this one.) The single-camera comedy is to debut next fall and will center on a woman (Kemper) who escapes a doomsday cult and starts life over in New York City. “We have been lucky enough to work at NBC for our entire careers (except when Robert worked at 'The Dana Carvey Show,' now available on DVD)

Figure skater Oksana Baiul is suing NBC for $5 million . Baiul, the 1994 Olympic gold medalist , says she was o ffered a deal to perform in two shows that were to air on NBC, but that she declined to participate. However, she says her name and likeness were used to advertise one of the shows on two radio websites and that she was named in a news release for the show. The skater says her reputation was damaged because the incorrect publicity resulted in her being labeled a "no show," making it harder to get work.

Heeeerrrrre's Johnny! NBC announced Thursday it is developing a miniseries about late night pioneer Johnny Carson. The project will be based on Bill Zehme's "Carson the Magnificent: An Intimate Portrait" (2010). The journalist spent time with Carson after his retirement. The miniseries will look at the showman's three-decade run (1962-92) on the "Tonight Show. " And while Carson was known for his privacy, the telepic will attempt to offer a peek at what his life outside the seminal set was like.

Broadcasters can hang up the "Gone Fishing" sign. Network executives have finished negotiating the bulk of their advertising sales for the upcoming 2012-2013 television season, fetching nearly $9.1 billion in commitments for prime-time commercial spots. News Corp.'s Fox Broadcasting and NBC, controlled by Comcast Corp., wrapped up their sales on Wednesday, according to people familiar with the negotiations. CBS and ABC finished earlier in the week, and the small CW put the final touches on its sales effort late last week.

James Spader and wannabe pop stars ruled Monday night for NBC, even though "The Voice" fell week-to-week, according to early numbers from Nielsen. "The Voice" earned a 2.9 among 18- to 49-year-old viewers, down 14% from last week. Monday's episode, on which the top 12 contestants faced off, drew 11 million viewers overall. The NBC FBI drama "The Blacklist," starring Spader , earned a 2.8 at 10 p.m., nearly matching its big singing contest lead-in and holding steady with its most recent original episode. "The Voice" and "The Blacklist" were the night's No. 1 and 2 shows, respectively, among key young adults. PHOTOS: Who's still in the running for 'Dancing With the Stars'?

After the coffee. Before catching up on "Mad Men. " The Skinny: I had trouble concentrating on "Mad Men" last night so rather than miss a detail, I turned off the TV. Now I just have to avoid all social media until I finish the episode. We have a pretty eclectic mix of stories today. Not only is there the box-office recap, but also profiles of Comcast insider David Cohen and FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. In addition, the Washington Post had a very interesting story on "Meet the Press.

Customized TV Listings are available here: www.latimes.com/tvtimes Click here to download TV listings for the week of April 13 - 19, 2014 in PDF format This week's TV Movies SERIES 30 for 30 The late '80s-early '90s heyday of the NBA's Detroit Pistons is revisited in "Bad Boys," featuring interviews with Isaiah Thomas, Dennis Rodman and others. 5 p.m. ESPN Community The quirky campus-set sitcom concludes its fifth season. 8 p.m. NBC Secret Societies of Hollywood This reality series shines a light on the shady doings of Tinseltown wheelers, dealers and scene-stealers.

ABC and CBS virtually tied in the key 18- to 49-year-old demographic Thursday night, according to early numbers from Nielsen. Fox's "Hell's Kitchen," the Gordon Ramsay chef show, fell 18% to a 1.4 in 18-49, its lowest number yet for a regularly scheduled episode. After that, the "American Idol" results show that revealed the top seven contestants garnered a 1.7, flat with last week's lowest-ever. The new comedy "Surviving Jack" was also flat, at a 1.2. Meanwhile, it was not a good night for Greendale Community College; Pawnee, Ind.; or the Braverman family on NBC, as "Community," "Parks & Recreation" and "Parenthood" hit or tied their series lows. PHOTOS: WGA's top 101 shows of all time "Community" slipped to a low of 0.8 in 18-49, in which a point equals about 1.3 million viewers.

A "Voice"-driven NBC had a slight edge over drama-powered CBS among key 18-to-49-year-old viewers Tuesday night, according to early numbers from Nielsen. "The Voice" was the highest-rated show of the night in the advertiser-desired demographic, earning a 2.8 where a ratings point equals about 1.3-million viewers, though it was the singing contest's lowest number yet this season. The network's new comedies "About a Boy" and "Growing Up Fisher" were both down a bit week-to-week to a 1.8 and a 1.5, respectively, while "Chicago Fire" continued to hold strong at a 1.9. PHOTOS: Behind the scenes of movies and TV For the night, NBC scored a 2.1 in 18-to-49, a tenth of a point better than CBS, which had the biggest overall prime-time audience on average (13.2 million)

In an effort to cast a wider comedy net, NBC is taking things to the online playground. The network announced Tuesday an initiative called "NBC Comedy Playground," a national campaign that the network describes as a way to invest in "new cutting-edge comedy" outside the traditional developement model. Beginning May 1, aspiring comedy writers from across the country can submit their show ideas in video-form presentations, to be considered for digital and network comedy shows.

Gillian Anderson did the unthinkable when she achieved pop culture fame as skeptical FBI agent Dana Scully in the landmark "The X-Files. " When the series ended in 2002 after nine seasons, she walked away from American television, moved to London and began taking on a variety of smaller-scale theater and film projects. Now, a year after the 20th anniversary of the start of "The X-Files," Anderson is more visible than ever in three TV series. She stars in BBC Two's "The Fall" as a senior police detective investigating serial murders, and NBC's "Crisis," in which she plays the chief executive of an international IT conglomerate whose daughter is kidnapped.